UK: Honour Crime - Suspect Has Fled the Country

In recent years there have been a number of highly publicised murders of women among the Asian migrant community in the UK related to choice in marriage.

Local women's support groups have been dealing with such issues for many years and, in collaboration with women's groups abroad, have brought about a positive change in UK government policy. However, the media publicity around the issue of 'honour crimes' has to some extent served to reinforce negative stereotypes regarding the Asian community in the UK and the Muslim community in particular.

This tragic case is of particular note because it illustrates one of the central issues behind 'honour crimes': the determination to impose one's will and to exercise control which is not necessarily limited to a woman's immediate family members. Within a week, a 25-year-old man was arrested in connection with the murder, but the main suspect Mr Hussain, of Camberley, Surrey, is thought to have flown from Heathrow Airport to Islamabad. UK Police are liasing with Interpol and NCIS in a bid to trace him.

For further information on the issue of choice in marriage among the Asian community in the UK, see the report, 'Community Perceptions of Forced Marriage' by the Community Liaison Unit (CLU), a section of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office that co-ordinates and repatriates victims of forced marriages from outside the UK. This study is a follow up on an earlier report that attempted to evaluate and establish the extent of forced marriage among the minority ethnic population in the UK. This report provides the context, explores the problems and the perceptions of Pakistani and Bangladeshi community on forced marriages. Therefore, this report represents a comprehensive and rigorous synthesis of existing research evidence combined with primary data collected specifically for the report. Find the report at http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/clureport.pdf